Little Strife
by BeckyLynn
Summary: Kairi finds a small child wandering the streets of Radiant Garden. Who is he? and will she be able to help him become the man he once was. this is not a romance.
1. Chapter 1

**Wow random idea just popped into my head. (I'll keep writing my other story along side this one) Don't know where this will go but I will complete it. (can't stand unfinished stories.) Rated T for violence(I guess)**

**Chapter 1**

The first time I met him.

Kairi had been walking the deserted streets of Radiant garden for nearly an hour. She was tired and the shopping bags in her arms seemed to weigh a ton. She had volunteered to pick up some synthesis items for the restoration committee. She hadn't been ready to go back to Merlin's house, not yet. _That's enough._ She fell back onto the wall of an abandoned house and let the bags drop to the street.

"What a day." She had been with Yuffie before this and was so worn down from trying to keep up with the hyper ninja. Kairi sighed and rested a hand on her empty stomach. She had skipped lunch and now she was paying for it. She reached into her purse and pulled out bar of chocolate. Even though she wasn't in the mood for candy it would have to do.

She took the final bite and tossed the wrapper into a nearby trash can. _Maybe Soras back by now. _She shook her head. _Probably not_.

BING- BONG! She jumped at the sound of a bell. Although she had never found the clock, she knew that it went off every hour. She brushed her hair behind her ear and scooped up her shopping bags. _Time to go._ She took a glance at the sky and starred at the full moon. _I better not run into any heartless tonight._

She stumbled forward and grabbed hold of the wall for balance. "What was that?" Her leg felt strangely heavy. Her eyes were drawn to her right leg.

"Who are you?"

"…"

Bright blue eyes starred up at her appearing frightened. Blonde hair spiked and hung messily in his face. He was a small child possibly only three years old. An attempt at moving away from his grip resulted in him clinging tighter to her leg. She tried again only this time he whimpered pitifully.

"Hey what's wrong? ...Oh great." Looking past him she could see a small group of heartless moving towards them. "C'mon we have to go." She whispered in his ear. He let go of her leg and replaced it with her hand. After doing a double take of their surroundings she led him away, and off the street. Together they slipped down an alleyway all the while looking back over their shoulders.

Kairi hadn't realized how fast she was walking. The child fell behind gave a small whine.

"I'm sorry." She bent down beside him and whipped away a tear from his cheek. He reached his arms above his head opening and closing his fingers over and over.

"Up." He yanked at her hand. "Up." Scooping him into her already full arms she lifted him high into the air. _He must be younger than I thought._ His head rested on her shoulder and his complaints stopped. But only for a moment. "mwah!" He shrieked. Kairi jumped back narrowly avoiding the heartless that had swiped at her face. Still holding him in her arms, she turned and ran back the way they had come.

Skidding to a stop she gasped. The entrance to the alleyway was barricaded by a large wall of heartless. _No…_They were closing in on all sides. How would she get out of this?

He wriggled free from her arms and curled into a ball against the alley's wall. Seeing as how she had taken it upon herself to take care of him, she wrapped her arms around him. The alley had become cold. Their breath hung in the air and floated away lazily. Any moment heartless would be bearing down upon them. Out of the corner of her eye she watched in horror as one approached. It raised its clawed hand to strike. She covered both her and the boy's faces.

The hit never came. Daring to open an eye she looked to where the heartless had been. Nothing but a patch cloud of black dust lingered in the air. A small glint of gold drew her attention. A long tattered crimson cape billowed before them. Its wearer wore golden armor on his boots, along with a golden gauntlet ending in claws worn on his left hand. His hair was long and ebony in color. In his right hand he raised a gun and fired at the creatures with practiced aim. She covered her face and prayed for this to end.

After what felt like hours the alley fell silent. Kairi peeked out from behind her arms and met the man's crimson eyes.

"Are you injured?" The voice sounded so cold. It suited his appearance perfectly. A small nod answered him. Climbing to her feet she helped the child to stand. Their savior cocked his head to the side.

"T-thank you." Kairi whispered she felt so wary of this stranger even thigh he had just saved them. He ignored the look she gave him and turned his attention to the small boy. The man bent down to the boy's level and watched him closely. The child's eyes widened in recognition.

"Vin! Vin!" Kairi watched in surprise. _They know one another?_ The boy dove into the man's chest, burying his face into the red cape.

"What happened?" The man asked quietly. Kairi wasn't sure what he meant.

"What are you talking about?" She reached down and took her discarded purchases into her arms.

The man ignored the question. "I need to find Tifa Lockheart. Do you know where I can find her?"

"Um…"Kairi remembered meeting a few women back at the restoration committee. She was almost certain that she had met one by that name. "I think I can take you to her…"He nodded and followed her through the now completely empty streets. Noticing that the boy was not following them he called back to him. "Cloud, come." The boy jumped at his name. Scampering up to the man he begged to be held. The man seeing that carrying him would be faster, reluctantly lifted him into his arms. Kairi continued to lead still wondering who those two could be.

**Don't know when I'll think up the next chapter wont take too long. It's short! Reviews please! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Yeah tried to play a game and couldn't stop coming up with ideas for my other story. Which caused me to think up stuff for this and now I'm updating twice in one day. It's crazy beyond belief! Thanks for the reviews I love them sooo much.**

Chapter 2

How it happened

"Confounded technology. Absolutely useless…" Merlin mumbled glaring at the computer screen. Cid grunted but refused to look up from the keyboard. "Can't that infernal machine work any faster."

"Shut yer yap. I'm work' in here." Before the two could start yet another fight, the door swung open and a girl clad in pink stepped quickly inside. She placed her soaked umbrella against the wall and gave a long sigh.

"It's raining hard out there." She removed he soggy shoes. Seeing their faces she placed her hands on her hips. "Are you two at it _again?_"

"Don't you worry about that, Aerith. You have any luck?" Cid asked still not looking up from his work. She shook her head.

"Where are those two anyway?" mused cid scratching the stubble on his chin. "I didn't know Leon could stand Yuffie this long." He chuckled to himself. "That boys gonna be moody the rest of the week." Aerith gave a small smile and leaned over Cid's shoulder.

"And, what are _we_ doing?"

"Just trying to find out where they are." Aerith understood and took a seat at the cluttered table.

"We'll that's interesting…" Aerith cocked her head.

"What's interesting?"

"Seems like our buddy Cloud is coming by for a visit." She smiled and looked at the screen. Sure enough a small green dot was moving towards them. She hopped out off her chair and strode over to the door. She opened it quickly letting some rain pour in from outside.

Kairi stood in front of her. She was soaking wet and her arms were full of shopping bags. Aerith quickly took them from her and led her inside.

"Kairi did you see…Vincent…?" She nearly dropped the bags when she saw Vincent's face. "…You're… you're really here." He said nothing and starred at her in what could only be shock.

"Aerith…you're alive." She offered a comforting smile.

"Yes." She didn't know how to explain what had happened, so she didn't, She hadn't even had a chance to anyway. A small blonde head peaked out from underneath Vincent's dripping cape and starred at her shyly. "Cloud?" The boy ducked back behind the cape and hid. Aerith brushed the material aside and looked into those big blue eyes. "It is him." She looked up from his face to Vincent's. "What happened?"

"I was hopping you would explain that to me."

"I'll give you kids one guess on who's fault this is." Cid gestured with his thumb towards Merlin.

"What? This is my fault." He received a look of annoyance and thought harder. "That would explain why that spell I tested earlier didn't have any effect." Aerith gapped with a mixture of shock and worry. "We can set him back don't worry." Merlin waved a hand to calm her then, he adjusted his hat in thought. "Now where did I put _that_ book."

Merlin had been searching through books for hours and it would be sunrise before he was finished. Kairi had fallen asleep in the bed. The others had fallen asleep around the table. Vincent and Aerith were hunched forward their arms acting as pillows. Cid had collapsed at his computer. His head was tipped back on the chair. Cloud was fast asleep sitting in Cid's lap and curled against his chest while sucking his thumb.

"Drat!" Merlin yelled and placed a book back onto his shelf. The room was instantly filled with the moans of those who had been sleeping.

Aerith asked half awake. "What's wrong." Merlin sighed sadly and straightened the books further.

"When we moved here to Radiant Garden I must've left some of my books behind."

"We have to go back to Traverse Town?"

"Precisely. Cid will there be a gummi ship ready by tomorrow?"

Cid mumbled something that none of them could make out. He wrapped an arm around Cloud's shoulders and went back to sleep. Cloud hadn't seemed all that interested in what was going on and followed Cid's example.

Aerith took a blanket and threw it around them. She yawned and wrapped an extra blanket around herself as well._ Traverse town._

**I'm too tired to stretch this anymore tonight sorry. When you review I want to know if I should include Reno and/or Sora in this any other characters you want to see jut ask and I will consider. I made this a FF7 fic because I included Vincent valentine plus most of the characters I'm including will be of FF. So I'm sorry. But if it was kingdom hearts then I'd get flamed for having Vincent and other people.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own any of these games at all. (sigh) But according to my receipt from EB Games I did pay for them. This here be Chapter 3 more people are going to show up. Thanks to all my reviewers my ego is so high right now! You asked so more characters will be added. The Reno Axel thing is interesting putting that in will be sweet. And Sephiroth well how could I not add him someone has to make things worse. I never thought to include Zack but he could help a lot in the chapters I'm stuck on. No I wasn't really planning on using Sora(let's just say he is battling heartless.) **

Chapter 3

Voyage

The cluttered room was filled of a child's laughter when they awoke the next morning. Kairi squinted and saw Yuffie twirling around in a circle an overjoyed Cloud in her hands. Leon was sitting at the table pinching the bridge of his nose. Once again Yuffie had succeeded in giving him a headache.

"oh come on Squall," She nagged as she twirled past him. "This is so much fun!" She rumpled his brown hair and twirled away. He pulled his jacket up higher on his neck. Wishing to disappear into it.

Yuffie finally too dizzy to continue, sat down with the giggling Cloud still in her arms. Leon looked up to the ceiling as if thanking everything in existence that she had stopped. Cloud found Leon to be fascinating,especially with all those belts. He then jumped from Yuffie's lap and scampered under the table. She leaned over to see him creep towards Leon. In one quick motion Cloud placed both hands on Leon's knees and used them to propel himself up.

"Boo!" Cloud yelled with excitement and ducked back under the table. Leon only blinked a response. Yuffie smiled at his dull expression and peeked back at Cloud. Her smile broadened when she saw him and she yelled.

"I can see you!"

He shrieked and tore out of his hiding place to hide beneath the Kairi's bed. Yuffie pretended to look for him while the others discussed what they would do that day.

"Traverse town is so much further than I remember it." Aerith sighed overwhelmed.

"Don't worry with old' Cid driving we'll be there in no time." Cid boasted. Aerith clasped her hands together and studied the directions on the large computer monitor. The many paths seemed to bend in all directions in an impossible maze. She shook her head while closing her eyes trying to erase the image.

"You children can leave in an hour Merlin called from the stove. "Who wants tea?" Cid raised a hand in response along with an irritable Leon.

"Cloud?" Yuffie called. "Cloud where are you?" She heard a small giggle come from under the bed. She brushed a loose blanket aside and looked underneath. "Ahah!" she was triumphant. He squealed and she dragged him out. Spinning once more with him she plopped down on the unmade bed. She landed beside Kairi and scarred the poor girl into full awakeness..

"Yuffie," Aerith interrupted, "We have to start getting ready to go. "It's a long way." Yuffie was preparing to pout.

"But I'll miss him." She hugged him close to her chest. "Does he have to go so early?"

"Sorry." Yuffie bowed her head in defeat. "I'll give you a summon materia if you give him up." Yuffie beamed; there was nothing she craved more than materia.

"Then let's get ready!" She handed Cloud to Aerith; then dashed out the door the tails of her bandana trailing nehind her. Aerith was left stiff as a board in surprise.

"That was …easy." Cloud looked up at her seeming confused.

"Ary?" He looked around the room. "Oofie?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"It is time to move kids."

"Coming Cid." Yuffie grabbed her shrunken and ran outside to the gummi ship. Aerith was busy tying up her hair with a ribbon. Leon was trying to find a potion.(Just in case) While Merlin was shooing them out the door. Vincent was with Kairi already inside the gummi ship waiting on them. Cloud was exploring the bottom half of Merlin's house. There were so many interesting things here for him to look at. A book on top of a small table caught his eye. He stood on his tip-toes to reach for it but couldn't. He tried again this time jumping as high as he could. He caught the edge of the cover in his hands and pulled it down. He landed on his bottom the book still in his grasp.

"Cloud, we're leaving." He held the book tightly against his chest and ran after Aerith.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

This gummi ship was larger than most. It could fit about ten people instead of the usual three. Their trip would belong because of the extra weight and size. Rotating chairs had been bolted to the floor and placed near the large windows. A single red chair was sitting in front of a large terminal. Hundreds of glowing buttons and flashing lights littered its control panel. Cid had taken his place in the red chair since he was the pilot. A toothpick was sticking out from his mouth. The others had taken the others seats closest to him. All except for Vincent; he had sat far in the back away from them.

"Aren't you going to sit up here?" Kairi called over the chair's head rest.

"I prefer to be on my own." She turned back around in her seat and looked over at Cloud.

Cloud watched out the gummi ships window and bounced up and down with excitement. Aerith was busy fastening his safety belt, having trouble adjusting it to his height.

"There," she said finally. "All set to go!"

"Bout time." Cid started up the engine and they took off in only a few seconds. They watched as Radiant Garden faded into a tiny spec beneath them. Cloud waved at where he believed Merlin was.

"Bye, Bye!"

"Oh no. unnnh…" Yuffie had turned what could only be described as green. She bowed her head and moaned.

"Yuffie are you alright." Aerith asked worriedly and leaned closer to her friend.

"I'll be fine, just don't touch me." Leon grimaced and shifted away from her not wanting to be near her when she was sick.

The different planets flying past the window had only entertained Cloud for a good Half hour. He flopped around wildly in his seat trying to free himself from his safety belt. With a strange twist he slipped out and landed on the floor. The old book he had found was lying just underneath his chair. He snatched it into his arms and tottered over to Aerith. Tugging on the hem of her dress for attention he frowned. She was asleep again.

"Ary?" no, she was out. He looked around trying to find a replacement. Yuffie had run of to the bathroom complaining that she hated traveling. Leon was reading an even larger book than Cloud's, whose title Cloud couldn't see. He hadn't noticed Vincent watching him from the darkened corner of the room. So that left only Kairi. She was staring out the window looking bored.

She jumped when a book was paced in her lap. Leaning forward she saw cloud's spiky hair.

"Cloud?" He ignored her questioning stare and climbed into her lap. Sitting on the edge of her knees he lifted the book up in front of her face.

"Pooh Bear." He said with a smile and moved the book closer to her. She looked over the cover page. A fat golden teddy bear wearing a red shirt was on the cover. He was holding a pot of honey in one arm. A boy that looked exactly like Sora was holding his other hand. Cloud pushed the book closer; she didn't seem to understand what he wanted.

"I get it. I get it." No sooner had she taken the book from him that he had settled into her lap and waited expectantly. She opened the book to the first page and read allowed to him.

"Pooh and the honey tree." She tried to turn the page but Clouds small hand slapped onto it. He wanted to look at the pictures. Kairi sighed mostly to herself. Apparently he wasn't supposed to be this young. When he changed back she was going to miss him. He had made Merlin's place a lot more exciting.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They were close to the end of the book. Cloud was looking at a picture of Pooh bear being chased by a swarm of bees. He made a strange little buzzing sounds trying hard to imitate them

"Then Christopher Robin …."Kairi stopped and looked out her window. Traverse town had come into view.

"oooooo." Cloud gasped and ran to the window and pressed his hands to the glass. The sparkling lights of the town were especially beautiful.

"What district are we heading to?" Yuffie asked trying to forget her motion sickness.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**I hope this one was a bit more descriptive I'm being all weird with my writing lately. Thanks for agreeing with me on my decision to place this story here. And thanks for the tip to make it more detailed. If I messed up in this chapter the next will be better. (I went to traverse town way too many times.) I heard this site will be down tonight so this will be all I do today. Should I include Tifa I'm undecided in this I kind of don't feel like it but if you ask I'll try. Next chapter shall be a bit more exciting not so much of this cutie stuff but some. I didn't realize anonymous reviews were off anyone can review. Sorry bout that**


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own KH or FF. Not much to inform you on. Does anyone else think that kingdom hearts should include Cinderella and Snow white's worlds? They didn't have any major destructive villains but it would still be fun. I mean the others got to have their own worlds why can't they? I would once again like to thank my loyal reviewers. I really didn't expect to get this many. Thanks.**

Chapter 4

Our old home

The group forced open the towering wooden doors that marked the entrance to town. It took all of them to pry the door back long enough to slip inside. After all the doors had been designed to keep out evading heartless.

There weren't many people remaining in the town. Some had stayed behind but most had returned to their original worlds. Even though over a year had passed this place still held a feeling of home.

"We're back!" Yuffie sang and pranced down the street. She grabbed a lamppost and used it to swing back towards them. "Hey everyone!" There was only silence. "What gives?" Yuffie jumped down from the lamppost and looked up to the sky.

"There's nobody here." Aerith whispered so quietly that they could barely hear her.

"Not true kupo!" They all jumped back in surprise. A small moogle was at their feet standing on the cobbled road. It's peachy color was bright against the dark road. "What brings you back kupo?" None of them were exactly in the mood to describe what had happened.

"We're on an errand for Merlin." Aerith covered.

Cloud, who had insisted on having Leon carry him, slipped down to the street and hid behind Cid's leg. "Well not to worry kupo," continued the moogle oblivious to Cloud's presence. "The town is now heartless free." It suddenly yelled. "Cut it out kupo!" Cloud giggled and swatted at the moogle's fluffy red pom-pom again. It wobbled lazily in the air causing Cloud to clap his hands in joy. The moogle scowled and marched off mumbling, "Why does everyone touch my pom-pom?" Cloud hung his head obviously upset that his toy had just walked away.

Cid was the first to break the long moment of silence. "Tifa's wait' in for us in the accessory shop." He headed towards the shop ignoring their confused looks.

"She knows about all this?" Yuffie questioned and followed on his heels.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The door to the shop was stuck from disuse. It didn't open until Leon delivered a swift kick to its center. They stepped inside the small room. It had always been too small but now with all of them inside it was just crammed. The shop was dark the electricity had been shut off long ago. The shelves had been emptied off all items. The fireplace was full of nothing but ashes. Yuffie ran her hand over the counter top and scowled. Her hand had turned black with dust. At least it wasn't as cluttered as the small house they had worked out of here.

Leon leaned against a musty wall. "I thought you said Tifa would be here."

"Up here!" A feminine voice called. They jumped and looked up through the square opening in the ceiling. Tifa was looking down on them with a delighted smile. "You're late." She slid don the green ladder and placed her hands on her hips. Her clothes were mostly black. They noted that she still wore her gloves, always ready for a fight. Her hair was shoulder length and dark brown. It went perfectly with her mahogany eyes.

"Teef!" Cloud ran forward to see her. Tifa bent down to look him over. She still wasn't sure on all of the details in his situation, but as long as she could help she was satisfied.

"I finally caught up with you." She looked past Cloud when she saw the tattered end of Vincent's cape. She rose back up to her full height and stared at him blankly. "Vincent…I-they never said you were here." He gave her a slow nod.

"I didn't know you would be here either." There was a long moment of awkward silence.

"C'mon guys lets go." Yuffie waved her arms for attention. "This is so dull."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They had traveled through the second district without a problem. It was much different from the first. The hotel was open for business along with all the stores that lined the streets. Aerith smiled remembering the day they had met there with Sora and the others. Those were darker times.

Leon stopped and turned to her. "You and Yuffie and Cid go to Merlin's old house. The rest of us will go through the passage way through the tunnel." She agreed and took Cloud's hand leading him and the rest of her group towards the third district. Leon watched them leave. "Let's go." He led them through a large house.

The upper windows were made of stained glass. The structure itself was made of pure white marble. They walked through the adjoining rooms ignoring most of their contents. The fact that there were numerous puppies running about was the only thing that they really noticed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Aerith Yuffie and Cid were standing in the third district. A wooden door marked with a fire emblem stood before them. The door didn't have a handle. It didn't need one.

"Fire." Aerith commanded and held a hand out before her. Flames shot from her fingers and encircled the door. The spell was activated and their entrance opened. Cloud ooood at the sight, making him all the more eager to go in.

It was a strange set up. Inside it was like a gloomy cavern. The room was large and circular and filled with water. In the center was a small island with a decaying house perched on top. There was a soft sound like an owl's hoot that echoed continuously off the stone walls.

They were standing on a small patch of sand. The only way to reach the old house would be to cross the large stone platforms. This would be no easy task because the platforms drifted back and forth in the calm water. Yuffie giggled. This was easy stuff to her. She bounded across the stone slabs with ease. She added extra flips to make it all the more fun. Within moments she was on the other end. It was as if she never left the ground. She waved for the other two to follow.

Cid took Cloud from Aerith and motioned for her to go first. Aerith looked nervously at the moving rocks but jumped to the first one anyway. It was easier than she remembered it being. Just to be safe she kept her arms up at her sides for balance and made her way across. She jumped the final platform and landed under a small sign like structure. An owl was carved into it its right wing had broken off and it went along with the looks of the house. She knew the image was supposed to mean something but she never knew what.

Cid landed beside her and set Cloud down. The child wobbled and blinked his eyes. The trip had made him dizzy.

"Hurry up you two," Yuffie disappeared around the side of the house. Aerith looked the house over. Where the front door had been there was nothing but old boards. They had been placed there as a type of barricade and prevented entry. But on the side of the house a large chunk of the brick wall had been smashed out. The only think that stood between entering was an old tattered curtain.

They ducked inside. The room was empty and even dirtier then the accessory shop. There was only a small circular platform in the center where the table once sat.

"It has to be here." Yuffie said scanning the room once again. "It couldn't have just walked away." Oh but it had. Aerith pointed to a large black smear on the floor.

"Heartless." She murmured. "They've taken it." She felt angrier then she had been in a long time. "Those thieving monsters!" Yuffie patted her shoulder.

"We'll find it. It wasn't taken that long ago." To their surprise Aerith suddenly jumped and looked franticly around the room. Something felt terribly wrong. This place no longer felt safe.

"Where's Cloud?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kairi absentmindedly kicked a few pebbles into the water. She had gone with Leon into the passage. She was fairly soaked because the only way in was to swim through at least five feet of water. A bunch of rocks made up the only land they could stand on and remain dry. She looked at the odd mural on the wall. It shone blue and it was decorated with small golden stars and a large moon. She remembered this place from before.

Leon marched down from a winding stone stair case. At the top there was a lift that led up to Merlin's old house. But it could only be activated by Merlin's magic. "Any luck?" He asked.

"Nope." Kairi kicked another pebble. Tifa was starting to do the same but only adjusted her gloves. Vincent stood beside one of the brightly glowing torches in the tunnel. They must have been magic since they hadn't gone out in years.

"Perhaps we should head back to the others." Vincent directed the statement to Leon. Tifa nodded. Vincent didn't usually speak unless necessary. Maybe something was wrong. Leon was about to agree when they heard voices screaming overhead. Their message was clear as a bell.

"Cloud, where are you!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Aerith had taken Yuffie and Cid into the old house but, Cloud had stayed outside. This place was much too interesting to ignore. He wandered unknowingly around to the back of the house. There was a large stack of crates pushed up against the side of the hose. He tried to mount them but stopped and jumped back to his feet. A strange creature was hobbling away. In its hands was a fat book with a strange phrase printed across the cover.

The creature wore what seemed to be a metal helmet. It's fingers were long and sharp with red tips. It was wearing a strange blue and red outfit. Cloud was intrigued and started to pursue this odd little thing. He didn't remember ever coming across a heartless before.

CHINK-CHINK

A strange noise stopped him. He turned and saw a golden orb rolling past. It was materia. He followed after it instead. No mater how fast he pattered after it he couldn't catch up. It rolled from the island and into the large moat that surrounded it. He stumbled through the mossy grass and leaned over the water.

It was dark and murky but he could still make out the faint golden glow of the orb. He reached into the water with his left hand ignoring how damp his sleeve was becoming. His fingers closed around its smooth surface and he hauled himself into a sitting position. He stared into its crystal like surface in amazement. It was beautiful. He spun it in his fingers until a strange image flashed over it' reflective surface. He shivered and looked slowly over his shoulder.

"Umph---" A strangers arm latched around his stomach while a gloved hand smothered his mouth. The materia dropped from his grasp and landed with a soft plunk in the water. He wriggled angrily in the others tight grasp trying desperately to escape or at least scream.

He growled enraged as a cloud of black, purple, and blue smoke swirled together before him. He pushed against those restraining arms and tried desperately to move away from the darkness. Whoever had him stepped into the darkness and they vanished together without a trace.

"Cloud, Where are you!"

**Oh no I lost Cloud. Where on the planet did I put him? That's going to be a problem when I try and turn him back isn't it? I couldn't resist including the pom-pom thing. A moogle actually said that in the kh game and I figured it would be fun. Oh who will rescue our beloved Cloud? If I don't update again tonight I may not do it until Saturday. Sorry school sucks. It all depends on how much homework they give me. (Seriously who do you think stole Cloud.)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Let's figure out where the heck our beloved Cloud went off to. Lots of people are going to show up in this one. .Just In case that whole pooh bear thing confused anyone; in kingdom hearts you get to go into the Winnie the Pooh book and it was in Merlin's house. That was just to be cute :) If there's anything specific you guys want to happen just ask and I'll see if it can fit in.**

Chapter 5

My nemesis my ally

Leon's group ran as fast as they could into the cavern. They looked around franticly trying to find the others. Aerith ran out from behind the wreckage of a house and sprinted to the edge of the island. She was obviously flustered. Her face had gone pale and her bright emerald eyes were wide in fear.

Leon ran across the floating platforms to reach her. "What happened?" She took a moment to calm herself afraid she was about to scream.

"We- we lost Cloud." She swallowed fighting back the tears that were threatening to fall. "We lost him, Leon" She couldn't stand it any longer. Sitting quickly down in the dirt she buried her face into her hands and wept. Tifa had run over without them noticing and wrapped a comforting arm around her friend.

"We will find him. He couldn't have gone far in this place." She soothed and let Aerith rest her head on her shoulder.

"Unless he drowned." Yuffie whispered a bit too loudly. She received numerous glares of disapproval. "Sorry…." She kicked at the dirt trying to avoid their harsh stares.

Aerith shook her head. "No. She has a point. We have to find him before anything happens." She wiped at her bloodshot eyes and got to her feet. After subconsciously dusting her dress she turned back towards the sorry excuse for a house.

A soft chuckle came from the entrance. They spun on their heels and raised their weapons in unison. A man who had been standing in the shadows of the doorway stepped forward. He wore a navy blue suit that was unkempt. He had refused to tuck his shirt in and also rejected the decision to wear a tie. His hair was a fiery red. The locks seemed to reach in all directions only to finally end in a long ponytail that ran down his back. He didn't seem to have much of a build but that was always exchanged for his speed. A pair of goggles rested over his forehead just above his aquamarine eyes. Two red streak like tattoos had been drawn just beneath them. His features were only accented by his trademark smirk.

Aerith lowered her staff. "Turks…"

He smirked and walked towards them in a cocky manner. "Is that how you say hello to your old buddy?"

Leon shot him an icy glare knowing perfectly well that this man wasn't exactly a _friend_. Raising his gunblade higher he spoke. "What have you done with Cloud?"

The man seemed confused. "Strife? How the hell should I know where he is?" Leon scowled at the reply and prepared to charge forward.

Aerith placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "It won't help." She turned to the Turk. "Reno, please have you seen anyone leave this place? Anyone at all?"

"At least some people are still polite." He smirk faded a little. "I haven't seen anyone except for your little group."

Aerith felt sick. They had already searched so much of this gloomy place the chances of him being here were growing slimmer by the minute. "Let's just keep searching." She cast Reno a final glance and followed Vincent towards the edge of the foggy water. By now she could only think for the worse. _The only place_ _they hadn't checked yet was the water._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A man clad in black leather walked swiftly through the old castle in Radiant Garden. The entire complex was a large assortment of lifts and dead end hallways. The heartless had left this place long ago after the fall of Maleficent. The old witch was consumed by the darkness just as her comrades before her. This place was perfect for him here he could be alone and still hold a close watch over his enemies.

Of course there was one less to worry about now. He told himself as he smiled and the no longer wriggling child in his grasp. The darkness had been too much for it, and it had been forced to fall in to the land of dreams. The man brushed his long silver hair from his shoulder and carried his burden towards one of the still operating lifts.

The lift was like a cage. Golden bars enclosed the sides in order to prevent any passengers from falling. Or in the child's case leaving. The lift hung high over what appeared to be a bottomless pit. In truth it led down beneath the castle and into the old waterways. That place was darker and a considerably better place to store the child. But the lift would handle the job of delivering it there. He had _other _business to take care of first.

He dropped the Cloud's motionless form none too gently into the lift. A blue electrical sphere hovered just beside it. He sliced it with the edge of masamune and watched as the lift descended out of sight. "We will finish our little game latter, Cloud." The man summoned up another swirling portal and stepped inside. A single black feather drifted slowly to the ground just as the portal closed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A man in his early twenties walked through the empty second district. The shops had closed for the night and the few people that resided there had turned in. His bright mako eyes scanned each corner. Every sound, no matter how soft, caused him to brace himself for a fight. He no longer wore a Soldier uniform, those days had passed. Not much else had changed about him. His hair was still as black as charcoal and spiked like a hedgehog's quills. He was here searching for something. No…not something, someone.

He wandered the district sometimes in circles sometimes pacing back and forth. His bright eyes kept flicking up towards the sky as if something would jump down upon him at any given moment.

That place was like a large courtyard. A large stone walkway bordered the outside while the center dropped inward. There wasn't much within the area; just a few benches and an old fountain. He didn't like this place. It was too open but at the same time seemed to close him in.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You've got issues yo." Reno smirked and watched the gunblade wielder as he trekked through the water.

Leon glared at the redheaded Turk and continued to tramp along. With each new step a small cloud of dirt would rise and drift after his retreating boots.

Reno had chosen not to help them in their search. It wasn't his place to be; but still he had found a reason to stay and watch them. Of course, he wasn't there to simply watch he couldn't resist the occasional comment against Leon. He shifted to lean on his left hand and went back to his criticism.

"I mean, you don't smile. And the only thing you said to me obviously had a threat behind it."

Leon clenched his fists trying to calm himself and refrain from shoving Reno from his perch and into the moat. He had to look for his friend anyway.

Reno nodded his head in certainty and reiterated, "Issues yo."

Vincent had miraculously managed to ignore the constant interference from the Turk. He had walked around the island in a full circle. His gaze shifted to where Yuffie was swimming along side Kairi. They had been dragging their feet along the bottom just incase they overlooked something. Vincent didn't voice his thoughts but he doubted that Cloud was still here.

"Vince you find anything?" He looked to where Cid was standing with Tifa. Aerith was beside them, once again near tears from both frustration and worry. Vincent shook his head regrettably and quickly looked back to the slowly rippling surface of the water. He didn't want to see her cry again. She always had that way about her. Aerith was rarely upset and when she was everyone else felt it and it reflected in their own emotions.

It was when he withdrew his gaze from Aerith that he noticed a faint glimmer from within the water's shallow depths. He reached in cautiously with his armored left hand and withdrew a small orb. He never even had a chance to register what it was.

"Mine!" Yuffie had charged through the water in mere seconds to snatch it from his grasp. She quickly ran to sit against the house her shoes sloshing with each step. She sat against the cold brick wall with her knees up to her chest ignoring how her clothes had been soaked completely. The command materia in her possession was enough compensation for anything.

The others looked over at her sadly. Not only had she sat out, she had given up. Kairi sighed deciding to do the same. She wadded over to the bank and sat down at Vincent's feet.

Resting her chin on her right hand she sighed again, "No book, and no cloud."

Even Leon had given in. He sloshed over to them and looked at Aerith. "We should search the rest of the town. He isn't here anymore." Vincent watched as the grief stricken Aerith slowly nodded and walked over the platforms. Her best friend, Tifa, was instantly by her side.

Reno raised an eyebrow as the two passed him. "Am I missing something?" he held his arms out in confusion. "Strife disappears all the time." He thought a moment after Yuffie had snatched up the materia he just assumed that's what they were really looking for. Them asking about Cloud's whereabouts was a common problem, so he couldn't see the reason for all the fuss.

"Yuffie swiped him over the top of the head. Aerith's mood had her upset as well. "Shut up Turk." She marched on past him with her head held high and proud while her soaked outfit left a trail of water droplets behind.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Back within the castle Cloud was sitting in the lift. It had brought him into a dark place far beneath the surface. He couldn't see the end of this darkness. It just stretched all around hiding any exits from view. All he could make out were large bronze gates that could only be activated by switches. But those had also dissolved into the darkness. He scooted closer to the center of the lift feeling as if prying eyes were hiding within this place. If there were monsters down here maybe they couldn't reach him from the center.

But that assumption was incorrect. As he shifted closer to the exact center there was an odd noise almost like a spark. He jumped and quickly retreated to the bared wall. The same darkness that the other had used to bring him here had appeared once again. Not knowing what else he could possibly do he curled up into a ball. He covered his head protectively and crammed his small body as close against the cold bars as it would allow.

There was along silence filled only by his unsteady breathing. He allowed his curiosity to consume him and peeked out from behind his hands. A tall figure loomed before him. This man that had come from the darkness was not the same as the other. He had green eyes just as the other man did. He wore all black as well. This man smiled. Had the other smiled? If he had it would have been an ugly sneer. But as for this man? The smile this man had was different. It wasn't a cruel sneer. It was more like somewhere between being kind and a smirk. But Cloud wouldn't trust him he used the darkness and that darkness had brought him here.

The man spoke at last. "Looks like house keeping forgot something."

**What color are Reno's eyes because I swear they were either blue or grey in advent children. As for the marks on his cheeks I have decided that they're tattoos. They just have that texture to them. Zack's eyes are weird in last order they were violet but they were blue in AC. **

**I'm thinking this has something to do with whatever happened on Sunday. None of my reviews that I've gotten since then have appeared yet. It's been over 24 hours. Is anyone else having this issue? **

**Anyway now who do you think stole Cloud? I didn't want to describe the kidnapper to much because you were supposed to see only what Cloud saw. The last guy I brought in is for you to have fun guessing on too. Don't worry I'll be more descriptive with both of their looks later on**

**I don't own any of these characters or games but I own this story.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Jeez I don't know how this ones going to sound. School was soooo dull every time I tried to write my ideas got zapped. My reviews are showing up again so that's one problem out of the way. Thanks so much for the reviews especially those of you who answered my questions and played along in my guessing games. I think this is chapter 6. Haven't thought up the next chapter oh no! But I have the rest of the night to daydream. **

**Beware! There is a little bit of blood in this one so if you're allergic, skim over the third section.**

Chapter 6

I fight alone

The man that had scoured the entire second district from top to bottom had finally given up his search. Whoever he had been searching for was no longer there. Out of anger his fist collided heavily with the nearest wall. He ignored the large indentation that was left behind.

It was supposed to end here. Their final battle was so close but apparently his opponent had had other plans.

"Have you given in already?" That voice was full of malice. His target had returned yet he didn't reply.

The other walked out from the shadows on top of the clock tower roof. "Well? Have you, Zack? The searcher felt like a boy in the others presence as he starred up to the rooftops. Feeling annoyed with himself he wondered how he had never heard him approach. "Are you prepared to fight traitor?'

The boy known as Zack glared. In one swift motion he had raised his sword a level with his shoulders. The blade was as long as he was tall. The metal steel had become rusted from years of battles and waiting for his return. The sword itself was quite plain and was without any overly detailed designs. Old scratches and dents from battles long ago were the only things that marked its surface. Two empty slots had been formed just above the hilt, the perfect size to hold materia.

Zack spoke at last. "Don't expect to make the first strike!" The other smiled evilly. He dropped gracefully from his resting place to fully face Zack.

"Then let's begin." He unsheathed the long masamune, the sword that only he had managed to wield. The rising moon's light glinted of the cold steel.

"This time Sephiroth, you fall." The two charged one another and their swords clashed. The battle they began so many years ago was coming to an end.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Cloud kept his head down to the cold stone floor. The fear he felt from the newcomer was almost as great as for the one that brought him there. To his own surprise the other hadn't moved toward him yet. He peeked out from behind his small arms once again and admired the stranger. The man had moved further away giving Cloud his space. It was as if he were waiting for Cloud to do something first. He leaned lazily against the bars, almost as if he didn't care that anyone was staring.

He was tall and he wore a long black cloak that hung just above the ground. A thick hood hung from the neckline. Two long silver tassels had been strung through it and hung lazily down his chest. Between the tassels a long zipper ran from his chin and down to his feet. Every inch of his skin was covered in some form of black clothing except from the neck up.

His face was more visible now. His eyes were a piercing green and beneath them were two marks shaped like upside-down tear drops. His hair was a bright red and spiked back away from his face.

He reminded the small Cloud of someone. But as for who, he couldn't recall. Seeing Cloud's eyes searching over him, he cocked his head to the left trying to look at Cloud's hidden face. When their eyes met Cloud curled up tighter. The man rolled his eyes with a sigh and looked away.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Zack slumped against an old wooden bench. His left hand was clutching his wounded stomach while the other held tightly onto his sword. It was as if it was all that stood between him and death. His vision was starting to blur and all he could see was the image of Sephiroth standing before him. He wondered if this was because the pain had caused his eyes to water or if it was the blood loss.

The former general seemed abnormally calm after all killing others wasn't new to him. He made an unexpected swipe a Zack's face, but his former friend just managed to deflect it.

"You honestly think you can still win?" he smiled fiendishly.

"No," Zack panted. "But you can still lose."

Sephiroth's calm facade faded but Zack doubted it was because of his words. The older warrior seemed to be somewhere else. To Zack's utter amazement Sephiroth sheathed his weapon. He turned slowly and walked away. When he reached the shadows he had previously emerged from he turned back to the boy. "I intend to savor your death." He stepped back into the shadows keeping his stare on Zack the entire time.

Zack was left to stand alone in their empty battlefield. He couldn't replay what had just happened, his mind was a fog. The thick taste of iron had flooded his mouth. He gagged as the crimson liquid dribbled down his lower lip. His vision finally gave in completely and he collapsed limply onto the bench with a hard thunk. His sword went clattering to the pavement while his left arm dangled over the edge stained with his own blood. As his mind began to slip away he wondered to himself.

"Will I wake up this time?"

**Poor Zack :( This one was a little short. Congratulations to-Redwood you got them both! Axel was so hard to guess too. Also great job to silver chocobo 15, Tifavalentine99 and silenceinlight! If I missed anyone, sorry I'll mention you next chapter, for true. **

**Question: the marks under Axel's eyes are they black because in the few images I've found they look sort of purple. Keep reviewing it's all I have to look forward to after school. Well…that and sleeping.**

**Don't own ff.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Yes Zack was searching for Sephiroth. In this story we are going to go along with the idea that Zack doesn't know that the others are alive (that includes Cloud). (If you played Kingdom hearts just think of when Radiant Garden was taken by heartless. They got separated and people died.) He just assumes they died as well. Yes I didn't write the fight scene last chapter. It just sounded cooler to come back and have him in trouble (plus I wasn't in the mood to do a whole fight.) I apologize again for the shortness!**

Chapter 7

Empty

Aerith had retreated to the small house in the third district. They had lived here for a short while before Radiant Garden had returned. She was sitting on the small bed in the corner. Her hands were neatly folded in her lap and she was slumped forward in thought.

The room hadn't changed at all since they'd left. There were still boxes and crates stacked one on top of the other and pushed into a far corner. The old containers nearly brushed the ceiling. Other then that, the room was empty except for a small table with an old tablecloth. The lone front window was jammed shut and the curtains had been removed. She hadn't bothered to turn the lights on. This way she could see through the glass and watch those who passed by. She didn't want to risk missing Cloud.

She shifted onto her left hand and stared through the foggy glass. Searching for Cloud didn't seem to be getting her anywhere. She hadn't mentioned it to anyone but she doubted that he had wondered of on his own. It was better to think about where he had gone then to wander blindly through the dark streets after someone that wasn't there.

A shadow fell through the window and she squinted to make it out. No good, there was too much glare from the moonlight. She got up and leaned against the cold glass. She could just make out a bright shade of red. _Reno, _she told herself. She watched him leave through the large doors that led to the second district. _Apparently annoying Leon wasn't as much fun as he hoped._ She thought with a small smile. Steeping back from the window she watched as her foggy finger prints slowly faded from its surface.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sephiroth had returned to the castle in Radiant Garden. Unlike the rest of this world the castle was still surrounded in darkness. Although his face didn't show it, he was disappointed. He had wanted so much to be rid of the annoying Soldier. But he could feel that something was out of balance. Why else would he have stopped the battle he had wanted to finish for years?

He had reached the lift stop, of course the lift was below ground and only a single cable ran down the shaft. The blue crystal of electricity was still sparkling wildly it almost seemed to glow red. Sephiroth slashed it lazily with masamune. The lift purred to life as the cage moved upward. The cable creaked and whined as it ran through the hidden pulleys. It was only a sign of how rundown this place had become.

The top of the cage had come into view. The gears gave a high shriek as it came to a stop, forcing him to squint in annoyance.

He found the imbalance that he had felt before. His brow furrowed in annoyance as he stared into the lift. It was empty. Cloud had disappeared without a trace.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You alright? Wake up yo!"

Zack gave a low groan and dared to open his heavy eyelids. He was in a dimly lit room that was strangely clean. From what he could make out the room had three exits. Two doors that led to unknown room and another that opened out to a small balcony. Everything matched perfectly. The wallpaper was a deep forest green that was a reflection of the bedspread's color. A small clock, of a slightly different shade, was ticking away on the far wall. He was lying on a small one person bed that had been shoved into the corner.

He groaned again as he slowly sat up and leaned against the headboard. Some of his loose hair flopped over his forehead with the sudden motion. There was a small table in the center of the room with two chairs beside it. A man with red hair was sitting in one with his feet propped up on the other. He seemed to smile when Zack sat up.

"Thought you were dead for sure yo. That wasn't the best place to take a nap." Zack looked at him quizzically but quickly shut his eyes tight when a searing pain ripped through his stomach. He dropped back down onto the overly fluffy pillow.

"Sorry about that." The other apologized. "I know a healer, but I couldn't track her down." He got up and paced towards the door. "What happened anyway?"

Zack watched as he wandered around the room. He didn't really seem to care but Zack tried to explain any way. "I got to close to Sephiroth" he decided against saying much more. Every word hurt as it moved through his throat.

The man didn't really seem concerned with what he had been told. Apparently it didn't surprise him. "So you're a Soldier." He had noticed the mako in Zack's eyes. Zack only nodded. He felt so tired. "Name's Reno."

"Zack…"His eyes blinked shut and he relaxed into the soft mattress. He was too weak and needed more rest. Reno shook his head and stared out the balcony window. Below was a small alley way with a narrow waterway running through it. He watched as someone tramped underneath the awnings and turned a corner. Reno thought aloud to himself. "That Leon guy has got issues."

**Short again I know I'm trying to stretch between my next chapter. Then we'll get some cute Cloud stuff and some more action.If there is anything you want to happen in the upcoming chapters just write my e-mail address. (Don't do it as a review because it could spoil stuff. But review as well!) If nobody does I may take a while to think up the next one. Sorry. But I'll keep writing my other fic (unless I suddenly get an idea for this). Goodnight fellow FF lovers. Please I love to hear what you think.**

**I do not own any of these people or places but this story is mine.**


	8. Chapter 8

**So sorry. This would've been up by Wednesday but I was bombarded with homework. And then I couldn't get on the internet. Okay I suddenly got inspired and I weaved this little yarn for you guys. I had this written by Tuesday that's how hard a week I've had. I don't feel all that well so no talkie-talkie for me just read. . Thank you **v

Chapter 8

My old friend

Cloud didn't really know where they were. Of course he was well aware that they had found a hotel, but he didn't know what this world was. Now they were standing at a small desk in the hotels lobby. It wasn't a large hotel and the lobby was more of a hallway with the rooms connected directly to it. Not that he cared with his height everything seemed big.

"Second room on your left Kupo!" Cloud recognized that weird squeak. He placed his hands on the counter and jumped repeatedly trying to see if he was right. Sure enough there was a fuzzy red pom-pom hovering in the air. He was sure there was a moogle attached to it but he couldn't jump high enough.

"Settle down kid." The man who had taken him was quick to correct his faults. Cloud pouted and looked down at his feet. There was a quick jingle as a key was placed into the mans gloved hand. He placed his free hand on Cloud's shoulder and led him towards their room. Cloud had to hurry to keep up his legs weren't nearly as long as the others. He craned his neck over his shoulder and looked back longingly at the pom-pom. But the man steered him out of sight and into a room with a large 2 painted on the door. Cloud nearly tripped over the rug as he turned inside too sharply.

He glared at the other for not walking at his slower speed. The other ignored it and took a chair in the corner. Cloud turned and gasped in delight. He scrabbled up onto a four-poster bed. It was dressed with deep red sheets that matched the rest of the room. The curtain had been tied back around the four banisters and draped around the beds edge. This room had three doors leading in and out. One led to the balcony and another to the hallway. As for the other he didn't know. The walls had been painted red with golden trim giving the room an oriental impression.

The man got back to his feet and turned on the bedside lamp. "I'm going to have a look around this place. Until then you stay here and don't wander of." Cloud started bouncing on the mattress not seeming to hear a word. "If anyone gives you a problem tell them you're with me."

Cloud kept bouncing. "Who're you?" he asked and bounded past him in constant circles.

"Axel. Got it memorized?"

"Yep!"

"So just stay here and don't go anywhere." He started for the door. "Got it?"

"Gotcha!"

Axel flicked off the main light switch so that the only source of light came from the bedside lamp. He didn't want anyone to see inside. Not when this kid was on the run from the former general of Shin-ra.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Sorry kid I couldn't find anyone who knows you." It was actually a pointless search. Axel had never asked his name and he didn't talk to anyone about him. He knew that if any of these people talked Sephiroth would be at their doorstep in an instant.

Despite the fact that there were few things of interest in the room Cloud had still managed to entertain himself .Axel had stepped into the room to find a large pile of pillows and blankets. As soon as the door locked behind him Cloud burst out from the pile. He pointed excitedly to it.

"Fort." He declared proudly

"I see…"Axel mumbled. Sometimes he forgot how it felt to have a heart. Cloud still took his answer as a compliment and ducked back inside his "fort". Axel studied it for a moment. It was going to take a while to untangle all of those bed sheets from one another. He shook his head and grinned slightly. There was a curtain rod stuck into the pile with a red pillow case tied around the top. The kid had even made a flag.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Reno had paced the room multiple times. Waiting wasn't one of his strong points. Eventually his wandering brought him to the balcony door. He looked down on the alley below. How long had it been since Leon passed by? He frowned at his reflection in the glass and forced the door open. He stepped out into the cool night air. Leaning against the balcony's railing he looked up at the black sky. It was strange. Where thousands of stars had been before, there was nothing not even a nearby planet. Another swarm of heartless may have found away in.

He subconsciously twirled his electro-mag-rod between his fingers. If he planned on getting help for Zack chances were he would have to fight. He wasn't going to wait around for the stars to speckle the sky again. He stepped back inside but left the door open. He strolled up to the table and pulled his jacket from the back of the chair. He tossed it over his right shoulder and turned towards the bed.

"Hey ex-Soldier, umm… Zack, that's it." He snapped his fingers in remembrance. I'm going to step out and find a healer. Alright?" Zack was still asleep. "Of course you can hear me…"Reno sighed and stepped back out onto the balcony, Slamming the door carelessly behind him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Cloud had abandoned his makeshift fort and had begun scurrying about beneath the bed. So many things had been kicked under there. A lot of them weren't all that interesting so he simply kicked them out from under his new hideaway.

Axel watched in mild amusement as a fuzzy pink slipper skidded out from under the bed and past his feet. "Kid, are you looking for treasure down there?"

"Uh huh." Cloud pulled up a large book from the darkest corner. He flipped through it nodding his head side to side in annoyance. The book didn't have a single picture. Dull. He pushed it out just as he had done the slipper. "Oooooo…!"

Cloud backed out from beneath the bed frame dragging a small cardboard box with him. He walked over to the book that he had tossed aside and picked it up. He had a sneaky smile on his face as if he had an idea worth shouting to the entire town. He gave Axel a quick look and entered his fort.

A few minutes later a yellow marker was thrown out from inside. "So that's what was in the box," Axel realized. Following the marker Cloud emerged and held the now opened book out to axel.

"X-L look." There was a large yellow blob scribbled over page seventeen. Axel stared at it with a strange look. "X-L look, Chocobo." Axel smiled realizing what it was supposed to be. It had taken him a moment to realize that X-L was his name. Cloud beamed proudly at his work and left the book in Axels lap. What little praise he had been given was enough for him.

He felt tired now his eyes were heavy and his mouth stretched into a long sleepy yawn. He started move towards the opening of his fort but instead wandered towards the window. There was a light coming from the room beside theirs. He wouldn't have noticed if not for the fact that he had removed the curtain rod and now the alleyway below was visible. There was a man descending the edge of the building. He was slowly sliding towards the pavement below being careful to watch his footing.

Cloud was sure he had met the man somewhere before. But maybe that was because he looked so much like Axel.

Speaking of Axel, he was heading for the door. "I'm going out to look again." Cloud's expression saddened. He'd been playing on his own for a long time and now he was going to be alone again.

"Okay…"Cloud sighed and looked down at his bare feet.

"I'll be back soon." Axel reassured noticing Cloud's hurt expression. Cloud looked back up to meet Axel's eyes and gave a small smile. Axel ruffled Cloud's spiky blonde hair and stepped out the door. "I promise." The door clicked shut and Cloud stood staring its glazed finish.

He walked sadly over to the chair Axel had been sitting in. He had left Cloud's coloring book open on the seat. Cloud shakily climbed into the chair and propped the book up in his lap. Now he was facing the third door. That was the only one that he didn't know where it led. He ignored it and started scribbling with a green marker all over a randomly selected page. It was meant to be a cactuar but it looked more like a moogle. He looked at his finished picture and stuck his tongue out at it. It hadn't turned out right. He dropped the book to the floor and stared fixedly at the door.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Zack winced as the pain prickled through his wounded stomach. Every time he fell asleep he awoke to the same feeling. He rested a calloused hand on the bloodied bandage that covered the wound. A soft creaking pulled him from his thoughts. The other door to the left of the balcony had slowly swung open. He starred at it for a long time daring it to creak again. But it didn't.

An hour later had awoken from another pathetic attempt at sleep. This was getting him nowhere. He glanced at the old clock that hung above yet another door. Fortunately Reno had left the light on and he was able to see the hands easily. 3:06a.m.

He laid in silence listening to the ticking of the Clock's pendulum. Maybe if he moved to a more comfortable position he would find sleep. He tried to roll onto his side but couldn't. It wasn't because of his stomach, it was his legs. Something had weighed them down. He tried again but this time something beneath the blankets shifted.

He was surprised that e hadn't noticed that a large lump was lying over his feet. He poked at it cautiously. The lump scooted away He nudged it again and it scooted further down the bed. Now this was strange. He sat up and lifted the blanket over his head. He shifted the sheets aside and found what had been lying on his feet. The strange creature that had been there was a small sleeping child. It was dressed in all black and its spiky blond wisps of hair reminded him strangely of an old friend that he had lost years before.

Zack starred in confusion. "Where did you come from?" The blonde made no move to reply. Zack shrugged and pulled the blankets back over them both. "Probably with the Turk."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The gizmo shop stood proudly in the second district. Its luminous glow brightened the entire area as it towered above the other buildings. Yuffie was on her way there now.

"Hey Kisaragi." Reno's voice echoed through the second district.

Yuffie spun around. "Yeeeeees?" She asked sweetly.

"I need a favor."

Yuffie crossed her arms and put on the best straight face she could muster. "I'm listening."

"I need to borrow some of your cure materia because-"

Yuffie threw a hand up. "Hold it right there!" She jumped back a few steps and kept the hand out in front of her defensively. "I worked hard to get my materia and I'm not sharing."

Reno sighed. He had been searching for hours to find them. Of course he had only been able to find Yuffie but that would've been good enough had she not been so stubborn. He had no idea how the others had managed to vanish in such a small town. "Then would you at least point me towards Gainsborough." She opened her mouth to reply but he stopped her. "Yes all the item shops are closed. I can't ask anyone else."

"Lemme think." She put her back to him and put her hand to her chin it thought. "Hmmmmm…" She turned back to him and placed one hand on her hip the other pointed directly at him. "I'll get back to you. First I have to check with my supervisor."

"What!" he gasped anxiously.

"Just give me a sec. Sheeesh!" She skipped off towards the gizmo shop and vanished inside.

He stared up at the glowing sign that hung over the shop. He shook his head to clear out his annoyance. Usually when someone asked for healing items you didn't giggle and skip off. He was still surprised that none of the invading heartless had given him any trouble.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yuffie came back to him a long while later. "He said yes."

"Who, your supervisor?"

She nodded and called for Aerith to hurry up.

"And who would that be."

"Squall." She replied boldly.

"It's Leon." Came a monotone voice from near the door that led to the third district.

"You two are so slow." Yuffie scolded and joined Leon and Aerith's side.

"You wanted my help?" Aerith asked sounding apprehensive.

"Yeah I got someone who needs your help." He walked towards the hotel and signaled for them to follow. Aerith tailed quickly closely followed by Yuffie. Leon hesitated but eventually decided to go along. He still didn't rust the Turk.

Reno led them into a small hotel room. They had been there before when they first met Sora and had to hide from the heartless.

The room hadn't changed at all. The door to their right had been cracked open so Reno subconsciously shut it. He gestured with a nod of his head towards the bed.

"He's over there." Aerith walked forward quickly and pulled a small orb of materia from her pocket. She gently pulled the green blanket away from the sleeping mans face. An odd recognition swept through her eyes but she prepared the spell anyway.

"Cure." she whispered her voice faltered slightly. A small aura of green light encircled him." It slowly faded away without even leaving behind a scar.

Yuffie leaned on Aerith's shoulder and looked thoughtfully at his sleeping form. "Looks kind of like Zack, doesn't he?"

"No." Aerith said finding words hard to come to her lips. "He is Zack."

**Wow that only took a really long time. Good Zack found Cloud er… Cloud found Zack. all is at peace …for now. I have a headache "Groan" I need to sleep. Lost will start soon so that will inspire me to write some more. REVIEWS WANTED!**

**I don't plan on updating "collision" until next weekend or after chapter 11. Sorry but I got ideas for this story that aren't written down and I need to run with em. But thanks for the reviews on both stories they mean so much. I was afraid nobody cared about Yari. I miss writing that story "sniffle" -.-**

**Don't you just hate the ironic moment when we know something the character doesn't. For example Aerith not noticing Cloud he was right there! Oh yeah the book Clouds been coloring in IS NOT the book they're looking for. It would have been fun to work in. But why would a heartless leave it there?**

**Don't own FF7 or KH but I own the plot and everything else in this story**


	9. Chapter 9

**It's okay I'm sill alive. I just sort've forgot to update. I updated collision and put up a sketch for it.. So forgive me if this seems short. **

**Chapter 9**

**Our reunion**

Zack stirred in his sleep. The discomfort that had plagued him for the entire night had subsided at last. He reached over to the bedside table, and flicked on the lamp. The room was instantly filled with a weak yellowish glow of light. Even though it was dim, he had to squint until his tired eyes could adjust.

When he was able to see without constantly blinking he surveyed his surroundings and found that he was alone. He patted the cover at the foot of the bed .The sport where the lump had been collapsed, telling him that the child was gone too. Fearing that his injury would act up, he slid slowly from beneath the quilted blankets to place his feet on the cold floor. He sat there a moment, feeling the soft rug brush against his bare feet. The fact that he felt barely any pain when he moved was rather surprising.

He stood up cautiously as his expression changed to that of confusion. Sure he was a fast healer, thanks to mako, but this fast? He gripped the edge of his shirt and pulled it up just above his abdomen. He gazed down to where the wound was meant to be and found only unmarked skin. He traced a finger over the area and felt a small prickle of pain, but that was all. He let his shirt drop back down around him. He decided that Reno must've found the healer he was searching for. Glancing to the clock he saw how late it was. _Past five in the morning already._

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tifa dragged her feet over the streets of Traverse town. Kairi was lagging just at arms reach behind her. It had been a long time since they had been in contact with Leon and Yuffie. As for Aerith it had been even longer.

Tifa looked over her shoulder and sighed. There was a hotel that was open 24-7.She knew that her fatigue was starting to show. Her arms hung limply and her eyelids sagged sleepily. The hotel looked so inviting.

"We should rest." Vincent commented seeing how tired they had become. She stopped to face them, trying hard not to fall asleep right then and there. She was torn between two: rest and obey her aching feet, or continue on and find her friend. She shook her head and they followed her without protest into the first district.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Zack sat on the edge of the bed rapidly tapping his bare foot on the hardwood floor. He was slowly working up the nerve to just get up and leave. He had to finish his battle with Sephiroth as soon as possible. Sitting around doing nothing but waiting was inexplicably aggravating. He would've left if not for two reasons: one- he hadn't properly thanked Reno. Two-he had no idea what the Turk had done with his buster sword.

His eyes raked across the room. _It has to be here somewhere doesn't it_? He wondered. _Unless, of course, it was still underneath that bench he collapsed on._ His eyes caught sight of one of the rooms many doors. One went to the hallway. (he had found that out earlier when a moogle came skipping on by asking if anyone wanted to synthesize items.) The second went to the balcony, the way Reno had left earlier. He had chosen to stare at the one door that had creaked open earlier when he had been trying to sleep. He just assumed it had to be a closet. _What kind of room would have this many exits but be without a simple closet. _He moved towards it, being sure to keep his feet on the small rug so that they wouldn't freeze. He reached out and turned the well polished handle. He nearly jumped, when he looked inside something leaped out and latched onto his waist.

His heartbeat slowly returned to normal and he starred down in disbelief at the sapphire mako eyes that seemed to sparkle back up at him. "Of course this would be the room without a closet," he mumbled. He took a quick glance inside the room the boy had been in. Everything was red, red, and red. He winced at the bright color. His eyes weren't completely ready to take on anything this bright, not after coming from his dim room.

He looked back down at the boy hanging from him and decided that this child truly resembled Cloud in everyway. "You're up!" He giggled and hugged tighter.

"Uhhuh..." The kid was hanging tightly to his waist while his feet dangled at level with Zack's shins. He tried to pry those small arms free but couldn't. The kid had him trapped.

After a good minute of trying to shake him off his arms became tired and he slid down to the floor. Zack stepped out from between the "lasso" of arms. He placed him back on his feet and sighed. "What's your name?"

"Cloud." The boy remarked proudly and pointed at his chest with his thumb to make his point all the more clear.

Zack couldn't really leave a kid all on their own so he led the kid back into Reno's room. Sephiroth would have to wait a little longer.

Axel stood in the darkest corner of the red room just beside the open balcony doors. He smiled to himself as they stepped back into the adjacent room. _Guess my job here is done._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kairi tripped over the final stair as they chased a small black shadow, and slammed into the hard ground. "Darn it!" She whined, her frustration and weariness finally catching up with her. A heartless emerged from the shadow and ran towards the gate that led back into the space between worlds.

Tifa sprang upon it, but before she could connect it shrank back into the brick laid street. "Cid, it's coming to you!" she called breathlessly. They had been chasing this thing all over the district for a solid hour, in and out of buildings, over and on top of rooftops. And all just to get back Merlin's old spell book.

"I hear ya!" He responded, and jabbed at the black figure with his spear, but it managed to slither away.

"Oh jeeze…" Kari had gotten back to her feet and was now favoring a scraped knee, along with a bruised shin, and a matching pair of raw forearms. Two gunshots sounded causing her to shriek as two bullets ricocheted off the stone walls and past her face. She covered her mouth with her hands to hold in her remaining surprise. She shot a quick glare at Vincent who didn't even notice where his stray bullets had flown off to.

"It's up again!" Tifa shouted and dove after it. This time she managed to land a firm kick to its back. It flew forward with a clatter as its helmet dragged over the ground. Kairi redeemed herself for her earlier clumsiness by charging up and snatching the book free from its grasp. She jumped back just as Cid swatted it with his spear.

The heartless sailed over their heads. Tifa met it in mid-air and propelled it upward with a powerful roundhouse kick. Vincent took advantage of the open target and fired. The bullet whizzed through the air and penetrated through the thick outer shell of the heartless. There was a blinding flash of color as a heart was released and allowed to float into the night sky.

"Good job." Tifa congratulated. Kairi smiled at the complement and looked down at the item she now held. Its appearance was a bit discouraging. The cover was old and warn. Bits and pieces of it had shredded onto her hands. The pages themselves were dry, crisp, and yellowing. In the corners and margins of every page were small notes scrawled in a loopy handwriting. (No doubt it was Merlin's.) But it wasn't the books weathered appearance that was the most disappointing. Kairi thumbed through the pages and they all shared a sigh. "Is this written in Latin?" Kairi asked fearing the inevitable answer.

"Looks like it," Tifa said quietly, "We will have to wait until we get back to Radiant Garden in order to get Cloud back to normal.

"We hafta find the kid first Y'know." Cid mumbled

"Guys, over here!" They looked over their shoulders to see an overly hyper ninja bounding towards them. They couldn't help but wonder how she wasn't the least bit tired after the long day and night of searching. The way she was screaming she was certain to wake all of the towns remaining occupants, except for those that had already been awoken by their little skirmish with that pesky heartless. "You will never guess who we found!"

**That took so long to write! I was debating on how Axel and Cloud should officially separate and well I'm still not entirely pleased but oh well. If there was a misunderstanding the room that cloud was in and the one Zack was in were side by side. Just like in kh. That part may have been confusing I wrote it sorta fast. Yes you owe all your thanks to valentinemenitis. They asked me to update and I had most of it in my journal so I figured what the hey? I'm thinking of writing a semi-sequel to this. There will not be any little mini Clouds running around or anything. It will be serious but its picking up where this story will sadly and eventually end. sigh **

**Oh yeah ff7 and kh are not mine.**


	10. Chapter 10

**If this chapter is extremely lacking don't blame me. The stupid FOX network has decided to have us watch football instead of the timeless comedy of the Simpsons. I need my inspiration back! Sorry football fans but I've been looking forward to these shows all day! Wah Okay that's over with. So here it is. I know many of you thought Zack should have flipped out at seeing Cloud but remember in my note in chapter 7? It explained how Zack thought they were all dead. So he just doesn't think it's him. I'll touch on that again in this chapter.**

Chapter 10

He wouldn't lie

Cloud was lying on top of the table while scribbling furiously in his newfound coloring book. Zack was sitting on the edge of the bed. He wanted to sleep but his mind kept buzzing with useless thoughts and unanswered questions. So now he had taken to watching Cloud in his little games. "Kid, how old are you?"

Cloud didn't look up from his work. "Ummmmm….twenty-something." He tried to show him with his fingers but discovered that he didn't have enough.

"So what are you drawing?" Zack got up and leaned on the table trying to see the page.

"My friends. See?" He moved the book out from beneath his arms so Zack could see. The dark haired man felt an odd tingle run over his spine. He pointed at one of the stick figures on the page.

"Who is that?"

Cloud pointed to the stick figure also. It had brown lines coming from the head to represent hair and a pink triangle was meant to be the dress. "My friend Aerith." He sat there for a moment enjoying the fact that he had managed pronounce her name correctly. Zack starred at him for a moment trying hard not to gawk.

"Cloud," he asked carefully, "do you know who I am?"

The blondes face saddened. He seemed hurt that Zack didn't know him. "My best friend." He said sadly. "Am I still yours?" He jumped from the table and hugged Zack tightly. Zack hugged him back but couldn't help but wonder what had become of his old friend.

The door suddenly swung open to reveal Aerith standing in the hallway. She jumped when she saw him standing there but spoke in her usual calm tone. "Hello Zack."

"Aerith…you're-you're really here."

She smiled and then her eyes widened in realization. "You found Cloud!" She ran up and hugged Zack around the shoulders. Cloud was squished between them.

"Halp,"He choked. "Halp." He slid free and ran to the door. Yuffie was standing there so he ducked behind her legs and peered out at the couple.

"Yuffie we should probably move into the room before the entire hotel wakes up." Tifa said urgently. They bustled inside quickly. Reno was the last one in and quickly closed the door behind him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They didn't have much time to socialize. They had the book and they had Cloud. They could go home now. It would be best to leave before anything else happened.

Zack was instantly bombarded with questions. "Where have you been?" "How did you find Cloud?" "Isn't he just adorable this size?" The last question had come from Yuffie. He answered them all quickly. "I've been traveling between worlds. Cloud found me. Yuffie quit hugging Cloud so tight. He's turning blue."

Surprisingly he had taken the news about how Cloud had come to his current state rather well. Merlin had always been clumsy, especially when it came to his specialty, magic. Sure, Merlin's spells going haywire was nothing out of the ordinary. What surprised him more was the fact that Merlin was still alive. "I thought that old geezer would've kicked the bucket for sure by now. I mean pretty much every experiment literally blew up in his face."

"I don't understand. I thought that you all died when the heartless came," He wondered aloud.

"Cid got us out on the gummy ship." Yuffie said and let it all sink in.

Tifa looked at him quickly. "We're surprised that _you _made it out. I guess whatever happened to Vincent happened to you." Before Zack could say anything Aerith spoke up

"Zack, will you be coming with us?" she asked, sounding hopeful.

He reluctantly shook his head. "I have to stop Sephiroth." Aerith frowned, "Sorry." He added.

"It won't work." She nervously tapped the spell book it her lap, not wanting to argue.

"You know I can defeat him. I have to."

"No, even if you did he would come back… he always does."

"That's not possible." Somehow he knew it was true. They all sat there as he mulled it over. Well everyone except for Yuffie. She being her usual perky self was twirling around in excitement.

Cloud was looking out the balcony window. He was having too much fun drawing on the foggy glass to even bother to pay attention to their conversation. He breathed heavily on the glass to watch it fog again and drew a smiley face.

"Cloud come away from there." Tifa snatched him away from his fun and set him on the bed. "Someone could have seen you." Correction, someone had.

He pouted and crossed his arms in dissapointnment.

"Tifa has a point," Vincent said, "We should leave now, before sunrise."

There was a quick shuffle as everyone grabbed their weapons and headed for the door. "Reno, what will you do?" Aerith asked in their haste.

He chuckled. "I'm going with you, yo." I believe you owe me for saving your boyfriend."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They were at the gates; their gummy ship was just on the other side. "Wait. I forgot my sword." Zack spun on his heal and headed back to the second district. They followed after him just incase another swarm of heartless felt like showing up. (Wow that scene went fast)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kairi sat on top of the brick wall with her feet dangling over the edge. She impatiently tapped the backs of her heels against its side. She just wanted to get back on their ship and go back to Radiant Garden. By now she was fairly certain that she would fall asleep before home was even insight.

Zack and the others were busy trying to find his sword. For some unknown reason all the lampposts, except for the one beside Kairi, were out. A strange tickling on her arm made her turn around. There just behind her was a heartless. It was as black as midnight and crouched low to the ground. Its two shiny antennae twitched and tapped the back of her arm again out of curiosity. She squealed her disgust and slid down from her perch. Running over to where she though the others might be, she ran smack into something tall, skinny, and cold. She figured it was a lamppost. But the fact that a loud hollow clang hadn't resounded from her head colliding with said object caused her to reconsider. As if the entire situation was planned the lampposts flickered to life just as she screamed.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Zack fumbled beneath one of the districts three benches trying desperately to find his sword in the dark. At last his stumbling fingers ran over the cold steel. He smiled victoriously and quickly found the handle. He backed out carefully from beneath the bench but managed to bump his head anyway. He grunted in annoyance and rubbed his sore noggin. There was a weird sound surging through his ears. _Is someone screaming? _He wondered.

The district was suddenly illuminated by the many lampposts, blinding him temporarily. Soft hands gripped his arm in fear. "Zack…" That was Aerith's voice. "Zack look!" She shook him roughly and aimed him towards the scream. His heart sank as he stared straight ahead at the looming figure. And just when they were almost home free.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kairi jumped back when she realized what she had run into. She had screamed louder then she thought humanly possible at the sight. Somehow she knew this person was bad news. It may have been his cold stare or that evil smirk that chilled her to the bone. She could hear the voices of her friends calling to her, but she couldn't make them out. Her fear was clouding her senses and rooting her to the spot.

A pair of small hand s grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from the figure. She barely noticed them she was far too bust starring at the tall man in front of her. "Kaiwi!" A small childish voice called from behind her. She snapped back to reality and saw Cloud clinging desperately to her hand.

A cold laugh came from the man in front of them. He raised his sword up to her throat and cocked his head to the side. "Now here's a new face." She gulped and gripped Cloud's hands as tightly as she could. Sora had told her about this man. She knew why she knew this man. It had been in Sora's stories. That long silver hair was a dead giveaway. Sora had called him Sephiroth.

She gasped realizing that the sword tip was still at her throat. Suddenly it was pushed away by the same hands that she had just been holding. "Cloud…" He stepped bravely in front of the sword and stood between her and Sephiroth.

Sephiroth seemed disappointed. Apparently he had planned for them to put up more of a fight before surrendering the child. But he could still make this fun. Using the blunt edge of masamune he swept cloud aside and sent the child tumbling to the ground. He made to slash at Kairi next but was forced back by a Zack's buster sword hitting him heavily in the side.

Sephiroth staggered back a few steps but remained unfazed. He turned his smile on Zack who glared back. Zack ordered for the others to leave. "Get to the ship."

Aerith felt her heart sink. She didn't want to lose him again. "Promise you'll come back with us."

He smiled and gave her a nod. She knew he wouldn't lie to her. "Let's move." Vincent's cold voice commanded and they quickly headed for the gate.

Kairi picked cloud up and held him close to her. Their only protection was Zack. Their being there would be a distraction when he fought, but she just wasn't sure if she could risk running. Leon made the choice for her. He had run over while Zack was telling the others to leave. He grabbed Cloud around the waist and carried him while ushering Kairi towards the others.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Everything happened so fast. Kairi had grimaced as the gate slammed shut behind them. She wanted to turn back to see if Zack had followed, but Leon wasn't about to slow their pace. Before she knew it the hatch of the gummy ship had slammed shut, locking them inside. Things started to slow down then. The whole ordeal finally caught up with her and now she could barely believe that she was still standing.

Aerith was rocking back and forth in her seat. Her fingers twitched with impatience and worry. Tifa was trying to comfort her but it was hard, seeing as how she too was obviously nervous. "He will be back any minute, I'm sure of it."

Aerith nodded trying to convince herself. _He wouldn't lie to me. He'll be here. _She told herself that over and over until she was believed it was true. There was a rapid pounding on the door and Yuffie sprang up quickly to open it,

"Wait," Leon and Vincent said in unison. It could be Sephiroth, even though it was entirely out of character for him to knock.

"Will you hurry up and unlock the door!" A familiar voice yelled from the other side.

"Thank Holy," Tifa sighed and beat Yuffie to the latch. She gave it a quick spin and the seal one the door was removed. The ninja pouted at being beaten as Zack quickly jumped inside. There wasn't a single scratch on him.

"Let's go yo." Reno yelled and slammed the door shut. He seriously doubted that Sephiroth had been taken down that fast.

"Keep yer shirt on." There was a quick jerk as the ship took of. Only Cloud was strapped into his seat. The others had been left to stand and lose their balance with the sudden force. He could only watch as everyone was thrown back and tumbled into the wall in a large heap. A series of cold looks were shot towards the cockpit where Cid was at work at the controls. Ignoring their urge to scold him they untangled their bodies and quickly threw themselves down into their proper seats and strapped each other down.

"Zack what happened." Aerith asked while busying herself with her restraints.

"He just let me go." They all looked at him, appearing baffled. "I lost my sword and he had me cornered. Then he just left." The ship gave another violent jerk. Except for a few whines and complaints of motion sickness from Yuffie they were silent the rest of the way.

**Next chapter will be the last chapter. But don't worry I'm still planning on doing a sequel. (No cute little babies sorry)I just have no idea where it is going to go. Thank you all for you're great reviews. .**


	11. Chapter 11

**Well here it is as promised the final chapter. I'm so pleased with myself. I have over 100 hits per chapter. Remember if I do write a sequel it won't be until Thanksgiving at the earliest. Either that or I may add another chapter onto this. I had no idea any of these things would happen when I wrote this they just happened. So I have no idea what would happen if I wrote another.**

Chapter 11

Welcome home

"Can't this tin can move any faster?" Reno complained and proceeded to tap his foot impatiently.

Cid spun around in his chair to glower the redheaded Turk. "One more peep outta ya, and I'm pushing ya out the door!" He set a toothpick between his teeth and went back to navigating.

Despite her motion sickness, Yuffie managed a slight chuckle at Reno's expense. He turned to her and frowned. "Et tu Yuffie? Et tu?" His attention was drawn away by a slight tugging on his ponytail. He grunted in annoyance and turned to find Cloud smiling up at him with his head held high.

"Hi X L!" He waved and scampered over to where Tifa was sitting beside Leon. He wondered into Leon's lap. Leonheart rolled his eyes in annoyance but didn't push him off.

"X L?" Reno asked. He looked around for some explanation but everyone was too busy with their own conversations. Aerith and Zack were chatting in the corner. Tifa was laughing at Leon's blank expression, while Cloud begged for her attention. Valentine was all by himself, but Reno didn't especially care for the solemn man's company. Yuffie was slumped over in her chair looking extremely pale, and moaning in misery. Cid was too busy driving and would sooner rip his head off than start up a conversation. Their newest friend was a girl with deep red hair. She seemed pretty quiet in comparison to her friends. He decided she would make for the best company and moved over to stand beside her.

Kairi gazed out the perfectly spotless window to look upon the stars. She had been hoping to see different worlds for so long and now it didn't seem as if that had been the best of dreams. Every world seemed to be more and more dangerous than the last. She sighed and studied the nearest star. It could be her world passing by at any moment and she would never know it. Nothing was a simple as it once was. Childish beliefs were crushed by this blackness that was universe. This space between worlds was beautiful, yes, but behind beauty darkness can easily hide.

Footsteps came up from behind and distracted her from the stars. "Nice night." She nodded and took little notice of Reno's presence. "Can't you talk?"

"I was just thinking," she whispered, "About home."

"Homesick?" He asked with a small smirk.

"No, I like adventures, but I never knew how different everything was. They are all so unlike my home." She gave a small smile and looked back out the window. "Somehow the ride out was a lot longer then the one back."

Reno leaned forward and stared out at the closest planet. It was his old home all right but nothing like he remembered it. As they moved closer into the atmosphere they took their seats for a final time. _Home is home._ He told himself and winced as the ship began to tremble in preparation for landing.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was morning when they arrived. The market place had a few early shoppers roaming about. Shopkeepers were hurrying to open their stores before they received any more traffic.

Yuffie bounded out of the ship and fell to her knees. She bowed several times. "Praise Holy! I'm never leaving this planet again!" She bowed down two more times before she realized that there was a pair of boots just inches away from her nose. She jumped back up to her feet in a sloppy manner and drew up her fists. "What's the big idea with sneaking up on a girl like me!?"

"Yuffie, what're ya screaming about now?" Cid growled and locked up the ship.

"Axel?" Kairi jumped over some of the rumble that still littered Radiant Garden's streets.

The one who Yuffie had encountered smiled. "In the flesh."

He saw her confused face and answered her question for her. "I saw you leaving Traverse town and figured I would drop by."

"Sora told me that you were..." He held up a hand for her to stop.

"Point is I'm here now. That means I can apologize in person. Sorry for what happened before."

" Everything turned out fine so it doesn't really matter."

"I'll take that as an 'I forgive you,' for now"

"Kairi hurry up!" Tifa tugged her arm and ignored the red haired man.

"I have to go. Maybe we will run into one another again." She gave a small wave and raced after the group.

Axel was alone save for Reno who just stood there and stared at him with a look of annoyance. "I'm watching you," He said and pointed an accusing finger.

"MmmmmKay," Axel was completely confused by Reno's reaction.

"I'm serious. There is only one Reno and that's me. Try and replace me and you'll have to answer to the Turks!" He made what he thought would be a threatening pose and slowly backed away. Axel raised an eyebrow and watched as his look-alike followed after Kairi and her friends.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yuffie pounded heavily on the door to Merlin's house. "Hey old man, open up!" She whined when an answer didn't come. "Squall, he isn't home ahhhhhh."

"Yuffie act you're age." Leon corrected and wrapped on the door. Once again, there wasn't a reply.

"Told you he wasn't home." He ignored her obvious statement and delivered a swift kick to the door instead. The wood splintered and the door was knocked from its rusty hinges. It fell inward with a loud thud and caused a decent amount of dust to erupt from the floor.

"Ooooooo you're gonna get it." Yuffie taunted as they stepped inside.

"That's only the third time he has done that anyway," Aerith added, and carefully stepped over the doors shattered fragments. "This place seems even messier than usual."

Zack followed behind her. "Actually it's cleaner than I remember." Tifa was right behind him along with Kairi and Reno. Cid was the last one to get inside the small house. Cloud was resting happily on his shoulders and was trying to steal his goggles. Cid frowned when he saw the door lying on the floor. "I'm not gonna fix it this time."

"Wait, where's Vincent?" Yuffie asked.

"He just walked off," Tifa explained.

"It figures."

"Good heavens what happened here?" Merlin was leaning in the door way and glancing around as if he were lost.

"Welcome home!" Yuffie chimed, and waved innocently.

"Well I must say there's a fair deal more of you then when you left." He placed his old travel bag

on top of the table, and turned to face them. "It's good to know you're doing well Mack."

"Merlin, that's Zack." Tifa pointed out.

"Of course, dear. I know very well who he is." The group rolled their eyes. "Now did you find my book?"

"It's right here," Aerith held the grimy book out at arms length and waited for him to accept it.

"Thank you my dear." He placed his glasses on the edge of his nose. He licked the tip of his finger and began to flip slowly through the pages. "Ah here it is." He ran his boney finger along the lines and tapped the paragraph that contained their answer." He continued to read while they waited impatiently. All of them except for Cloud he was much more interested in staring at Merlin's pointy shoes.

Merlin cleared his throat and an odd blush crept across his cheeks. "I seem to have found the solution to our little problem." He cleared his throat again and started to rummage through some cupboards.

"Why are you stalling?" Tifa asked suspiciously.

"Now dear, it isn't polite to accuse people of wrongdoing without any proof." He turned back to his cluttered cupboards, and grumbled something about having more ingredients then he could use in a life time.

He gave a guilty chuckle and turned to them. "Would any of you happen to have an elixir?"

"Yes…" Leon said slowly and carefully studied Merlin's face.

"Well then problem solved." He turned and waited for Leon to hurry in his search for the healing item.

"Here." He produced a small vile from his side pocket and handed it over.

"Now all I need is Clyde."

"Cloud," Tifa said hopelessly.

"That's what I said dear. Perhaps you children need hearing assistance"

Cid lifted Cloud off his shoulders and set him on the bed. The old wizard bustled over and held the elixir in front of the blonde child. "Go on lad, drink it."

"Wait just a doggone minute," Cid growled and flicked the toothpick from his mouth. "Yer tellin me that all we had to do was give em an elixir?!"

Merlin smiled like and idiot. "Precisely." It had become fairly obvious that he was embarrassed. The way he stalled and read the page for such a long time made the solution seem even more complicated than it truly was. He looked around at their faces. Some were shocked and some looked pretty ticked.

"I'm not even going to start." Leon said and slumped into Cid's computer chair.

"Well I am!" Yuffie pouted. "I had been sick for hours and…"She realized that nobody was even bothering to listen to her. She crossed her arms and harrumphed loudly.

"Just give him the elixir," Reno said trying desperately to get it over with. He just wanted to sleep.

"Go on Cloud, take it." Aerith encouraged.

He shook his head quickly. "Uh uh, it looks yucky." He covered his mouth so that no one could force him.

"If you drink all of it I'll get you a pet chocobo," Yuffie persuaded.

"A yellow one?" he asked in awe.

"Sure."

He held out his hands and accepted the small vile from Merlin. He slowly placed it in his mouth and chugged it down. It didn't necessarily taste bad, but it didn't task fantastic either.

When the vile was finished he handed it to Cid and collapsed onto the bed. A soft green light enveloped him. They looked away since the light was too bright when inside Merlin's dark house. When it faded they turned back and found Cloud asleep. They counted their blessings when they realized that he was back to his older self. His hair was longer and spikier. His muscles were stronger and his face was calm. Just they way he was before.

Finally they could rest (Keep reading it is not over yet)

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(You didn't think that was the end did you?")

Everything went back to its old routine. The restoration committee went back to their job of rebuilding the town, and Cloud went back to avoiding too much contact with them. He still did his part. He worked to repel the heartless and helped repair parts of the town; of course he usually did his work separately from the others.

Kairi had been staying here with them for a few weeks. She liked this place. There wasn't a single school around. Well that, and the fact that she liked being with her new friends. She was looking forward to that evening. Sora was going to stop by and take a break from his adventures just to spend some time with them.

Right now wasn't the time to be thinking about that though. Aerith had given her the job of being their messenger. Yuffie used to do it, but she had started to claim that it was demeaning for a woman of her talent.

Now her new duty had brought her to the ravine trail. Basically it was a wide mountain range with lots of little caves scattered randomly. She was busy cutting between walls and crevices of rock when she finally found the exit. She was in a wide open area that she recognized from one of Sora's stories. It was called the "great maw." To her it was the perfect name. This place was just like a giant mouth just waiting to swallow up any and all unsuspecting travelers. She shivered at the though and continued to walked onward.

A small ray of sunlight glinted of a large piece of steel like a beacon. It called her towards it. She knew it would direct her to the one she was looking for. The way the sunlight hit his sword he practically glowed.

Cloud stood alone in the wide mountain pass. Alone, the way he had been so many times in life. Someone's footsteps, soft and slow, were approaching. The sound alerted him, and made him smoothly turn to his visitor.

Kairi stopped when she met his blue eyes. She nervously laced her fingers together, and searched for her words. They stood and just stared at one another. She felt a blush cross her face. For some reason she couldn't remember what she had come to tell him. Instead, she just stood there feeling stupid.

"Remember me?" She asked quietly. He nodded and continued to wait for her to say why she had come. Finally it hit her like a brick. "Yuffie wanted me to tell that Sora is on his way. I think they want you to help in his training."

"Fine." He turned and started to go the way she had come. The first thing he had said to her since their return had been that one word "Fine." The thought depressed her. He wasn't anything like his younger self, not at all. She had assumed that he would become a close friend just like all the others had, but he was away so often that it was nearly impossible.

She followed after him in silence, until a soft clink made her stop and look at her feet. A small star shaped pendant had fallen from her pocket. It had been her lucky charm, and lately it seemed to be working. She leaned over, scooped it up, and held it to her chest. It was just a small bit of her life that she always wanted to hold onto.

She felt a cold chill rush over her and somehow she knew what it was. "Cloud!" She called ahead to him. He turned slowly, and his face seemed to drop in disappointment.

Sephiroth was standing in the exact spot they had been just moments before. "Now cloud," He said with a wicked smirk, "You know we haven't finished our game yet."

Cloud was by her side in an instant. He quickly gave her a push back towards the trail. "Go." He ordered.

"Mmmmm…" She didn't want to leave him behind.

"Kairi, go now!" he pleaded.

"…Okay…" She ran back the way she had come. When she reached the cliff wall she turned to look back, and whispered into the wind, "Be careful, Cloud." Breaking into a run once a gain her feet carried her over the rocky ravine path and to the bailey. She leaned against the stone walls and caught her breath. When her heart calmed its frenzied beats she was hit with hundreds of thoughts and worries. All of them screamed, "What if…What if…" They left her when she felt a small stinging in her hands. She looked down and saw a small trail of blood oozing out from between her clutching fingers. Opening her hands, she stared at her lucky charm. In her worry she had gripped it so tightly that it broke her skin. She ignored it and looked out at the remains of the castle. The afternoon sun was hanging in the west, and glistened perfectly off its crumbling walls. It would be nightfall soon enough. She would go and tell the others then, even though she already knew that by now their battle was over. Someone had won and someone had lost. And in losing they had lost their life.

**FIN (If I don't continue this, consider this ending to be a tragedy. Yes that's right. If I don't continue that means Cloud is dead. O.O If I do continue, he may still be dead. I'm not telling. P ) **

**And that's that. This is your last chance to review. I know ending bad but I hate when every story ends with something like-and they never played with magic again- or-they lived happily ever after. Tell me what you really thought. Thanks to all of you who were brave enough to review. You made this story happen. I plan to rewrite chapter 2 eventually. **

**For the final time I don't own KH or FF7 the plot is mine period, the fat lady has sung, the end !**


End file.
